Comments:

Posted on January 6, 2014, updated August 1, 2015
Nothing but good to say! Great customer service and they deliver what they promise. Every rhizome they sent has lived and last year I received first year blooms on 80%. Considering my poor soil and climate that is sub standard for growing Iris, my experience so far is...who could ask for more!On August 1st, 2015, eolivas103 added the following:

I continue to buy from them and continue to be very happy with their service and Irises. I have done business with them for awhile now and they have never mislabled an Iris and have always fulfilled my order to a tee.

Posted on July 12, 2014, updated July 24, 2015
Posted on July 18, 2013, updated July 12, 2014
This was my second year ordering from Blue J, and it will NOT be my last ! Rhizomes aren\'t huge, but very healthy! Great selection to choose from, good bonus system, and good communication. Thanks!!On July 12th, 2014, crowrita1 added the following:

Another great experience ordering from Blue J !! Thank you for a great \"shopping\' experience !!.....ArlynOn July 24th, 2015, crowrita1 added the following:

My 2015 order was , as always, a good experience! Plants are healthy, bonus system is great..all in all, a good place to buy from !

Posted on May 12, 2015, updated June 3, 2015
I purchased several iris in 2013 from blue j iris.The rhizomes arrived VERY small but all survived. I had one bloom for the first time in the spring of 2015 & it did not bloom true to the name. I contacted them via email & Sherri got back to me in 2 days (April 19th) & said they would remove it from their website & issue me a paypal refund. I never received the refund so I emailed them back on April 30th asking when I should expect the refund. It is now May 12th, nearly 4 weeks since I first emailed them & its still listed on their website & I still have no refund.On June 3rd, 2015, thahalibut changed the rating from negative to positive and added the following:

A full refund was proved to me on May 15th. I believe they are honest & try their best. I will buy from them again.

My order just arrived and all the rhizomes look great! It was my first time ordering from this company, and I am a happy customer. I will order from blue J iris again in the future. I placed my order earlier in the Spring knowing they would be shipped in summer, and the rhizomes arrived when we were told to expected them, along with a tracking number once they were shipped. The packaging was perfect for freshly dug irises.

Just one of the many varieties I purchased, Bella Rose, had a rhizome just slightly smaller than the rest, but they sent two as a result. All the rest of the rhizomes were at least two inches long and about one and a half inches or more plump with green trimmed fans. Nice fresh rhizomes!

The communication and customer service were excellent. I don't know if everything is true to name yet, but I really liked the plastic vinyl plant name tags that came attached to each rhizome. I usually keep my irises in pots for the first year to see where, based on foliage height and flower color, they will look best permanently located in the yard, and the tags will go in each of my pots. Thanks!

My first order from Sheri and the whole gang at Blue J and won't be my last! Sheri was so helpful, as I don't do credit cards nor PayPal and wasn't sure how to do mail order. She walked me thru the order process, emailed me the invoice to send along if I wanted - only needed the order number but just in case sent the invoice as well - and generally took care as if I was their best customer. Yes, it was the busy season and it did take a few days for a reply but I ALWAYS got a reply.

I was notified, complete with tracking info, when my iris were shipped, and they arrived in western Oregon in perfect shape. She even sent along two each of the two tiny guys, 'Bumblebee Deelite' and 'Blueberry Tart'. All rhizomes were plump, clean and had nice, stiff green fans with very little discolouration. All were properly tagged.

Two things I would like to see. On the tags, plant height and a short colour description - I went thru and added those myself - and a care/planting instruction sheet.

Posted on July 20, 2013, updated July 10, 2014
Posted on July 13, 2012, updated July 20, 2013
Posted on July 9, 2012, updated July 13, 2012
Posted on August 12, 2011, updated July 9, 2012
This year was the first year ordering from Blue J Iris. I was impressed with their selection of rarer harder to find varieties from 20 or 30 years ago and reasonable prices so as soon as 2011 orders were open for placing come January, I placed an order. As I ordered more than 100 dollars worth of bulbs, I got to pick a huge amount of bonus iris ,which i personally got to choose the varieties from her extensive catalog as well!! and i believe like 2 or 3 Jedlicka introductions of my choice as well. when picking out my bonus i had a hard time getting a hold of Sheri quickly by email, but was able to speak to both her and her mother on the phone who were both very pleasant people to deal with, and especially discussing selections with Sheri. I was not aware that she teaches full time and that even if it takes a few days for her to review your order and get back with you on selection and invoice, you can usually always reach her by phone. The bulbs arrived as specified on time, very nicely packaged. all were top shape except for two heirloom 'dauntless' fans which had purple stems but after soaking them in a gal of water with 2tsp propaconazole for a day they looked good like all the rest. All are now planted in the ground and almost 2 months later in late summer here in NC all still look good, even the 'dauntless', which i was worried about, are green and healthy. I was very happy with blue-J iris and will be glad to order from Sheri again.On July 9th, 2012, themikesmom added the following:

2012 Order:

This year the Bulbs arrived on time just like last year nicely labeled each rhizome with its own individual tag again, infact she even sent them out about a week early so the actually arrived right on July 9th instead of just sometime within the week which was a nice perk. I have to honestly say the bulbs were not as healthy looking and as large as last year, but I was happy with them as some were rare varieties and historics that no one else had. Sheri is a very honest person, one variety she could not find in her field, so instead of giving me a store credit or substiting another bulb variety of her choosing, she actually cut me a personal check and stuck it in the order which i thought was very nice as most other vendors would probably just give you a credit. Again I have seen larger and healthier looking bulbs before, but when it comes to selection of varieties and honest and fast service, Sheri has always gone above and beyond to treat us right.On July 13th, 2012, themikesmom added the following:

After soaking the bulbs they all looked incredibly healthy and we finally finished getting them in the ground today, Sheri found the variety that we wanted that she thought she no longer had and she shipped it to us free of charge!, what an incredibly nice person and a wonderful thing to do, we also forgot to keep in mind that as we had our iris shipped during the very first week available during early summer, bulbs are not going to be huge like if you wait till fall, we love how maticulosely and nicely Sheri takes the time to package the iris, how clean looking they all are when they arrive and how nicely she packages them safely in clean material with no dirt or debris on the cleaned fans, and labels each iris with its own tag, most vendors just scribble the initials in black marker on the bulb fans, she takes loads of extra time to print a tag for each fan, its always fun to get your order from Blue J and open retrieve the goodies. They Will Definetely Have Our Return Buisness.On July 20th, 2013, themikesmom added the following:

2013 Order was another Awesome year of nice sized hard to find iris varieties. A couple of the historic cultivars we recieved were huge, including Icy blue, Great Lakes, Rameses, Dogrose and Chantilly. Also recieved some rare extremely rare ones like Green Meadows, Maytime, and Red Cloud from 1913. Thanks Again Sheri !, for all your hard work and helping my son and me to continue to beautify this part of country by providing so many lovely plants that people will be able to drive by and enjoy for years to come!On July 10th, 2014, themikesmom added the following:

Our 2014 Order Arrived today and all Rhizomes were Decent sized, Well manicured, Clean and Each Individually Tagged. I have to say I have read some of the comments below on non-positve ones complaining about health or rhizome loss, and if you are a southern grower where it is humid getting iris from multiple vendors like me you should be soaking your iris in 1 part bleach per 10 parts water and you would not lose any, and northern growers getting iris from multiple sources should probably soak theirs as well as a precaution from any vendor. Every Year Sheri Continues to offer Rare Heirloom Harder to Find Historics and Moderns to us that everyone else that sells commercially continues to down size, no longer carry, or only have as display and will no longer part with. Sheri parts with Her rare cultivars every year in decent quantities. Bottomline, You can get these rarities no where else and you wouldnt want too, the Generosity and Reasonabilty no place else and the consistency of coming through for Her customers year after year, make Blue J a Special and Wonderful Place and most of all a Dependable Place, helping us year after year to save rare cultivars and beautify our part of the country! Thank-You Sheri:-)

In 2009, I received a wonderful order from Blue J. The rhizomes were small compared to many other growers, but that is to be expected due to the location of this garden. In that shipment, the rhizomes were mature and ready to be offered commercially.

This year (2013), my order from Blue J was not satisfactory. Unlike other orders I received, the rhizomes arrived dirty. Several of the rhizomes showed clear signs of previous rot (the areas were dry, so the rot did not occur in transit) or other significant stress. Some were not only tiny (no more than marble-size), but obviously immature. One was snapped right below the foliage.

-- On Saturday, July 13, I sent my first email regarding the problems with my order to Sheri Arevalo (manager, hybridizer's daughter) at Blue J.
-- On Monday, July 15, I sent a longer email to Leonard Jedlicka (hybridizer at Blue J).
-- On Thursday, July 18, Sheri wrote back in response to the email I had sent to her dad (which he had forwarded to her). In her response, Sheri described how many hours she works, said Blue J had hired new personnel, sent excerpts of emails of praise from other customers, said she wanted to address my problems, and said she would write back either that night or Sunday (July 21) to discuss resolution. She explained she had an emergency that would require her attention for part of the weekend. Sheri ended her email to me asking how many of the rhizomes I would want refunded.
-- On Thursday, July 18, I wrote back to Sheri with my requested resolution. Here is what I wrote: "You asked how many rhizomes are unsatisfactory. I would say that I would not have purchased half of these rhizomes, due to quality issues. However, if I subtract out the cultivars that I cannot find elsewhere from the unsatisfactory rhizomes, then I'm left with about 1/3 that I would want refunded."
-- On Wednesday, July 24, Sheri sent a short email to tell me that I was "not forgotten"... In all fairness, Sheri was also not timely when I added on to my order. The first time I added on, it took Sheri 11 days to confirm the addition and invoice the additional amount. The second time I added on, it took Sheri 12 days to confirm the addition and invoice the additional amount. So, a quick turnaround on correspondence does not appear to be standard with Blue J.
-- On Thursday, July 25, I sent an email to Sheri with a specific request for refund. I asked for a refund of 1/3 of the rhizomes ($84.00/3=$28.00), plus part of the shipping ($6.80 of the total $22.50 I spent in shipping), for a total requested refund of $34.80.
-- On Friday, July 26, Sheri refunded the requested amount ($34.80) via PayPal. She also sent a letter asking me to plant the unsatisfactory rhizomes to see how they performed. I wrote back explaining that I would prefer to not expend valuable time and garden space on rhizomes that did not appear to be viable.
-- On Friday, July 26, Sheri also sent a followup email in which she explained that, by Ag regulations, up to 1/2" of dirt is permitted on rhizomes that are shipped. I didn't realize that before her email. I had never received dirty rhizomes from other growers, so I thought that it was not permitted. I learned something new!

So, that leaves me with a neutral review. I've had one very good experience (2009) and one disappointing experience (2013). However, in time, Sheri did work to resolve my concerns.

BOTTOM LINE: Blue J offers many cultivars that cannot be found anywhere else in commerce, and their prices are low. In this regard, Blue J is providing a valuable service... preserving hard-to-find cultivars much like Vintage Gardens did for roses in the past. How many times have we, as gardeners, accepted a plant that is struggling, simply because we were happy to find that particular cultivar?

I had a good experience with Blue J. Only one rhizome was small (batik). The rest were a decent enough size. They looked as big as the ones in photos that were sent from other growers to my internet buddies.

Prices are very reasonable, so if their $3.50 rhizomes are not as big as the $12-for-the-same-variety ones from a different grower, that's OK with me.

Rhizomes arrived beautifully packaged and very freshly dug: plump and happy. They took off and grew immediately and this spring, all of them are up and looking good.

Blue J emailed me when they shipped with a tracking number, so I could meet them at the mailbox and they wouldn't have to bake in the heat.

They haven't flowered yet, so I can't tell if they are true to variety or not.

My package did arrive complete with ants, so I had to spray. Not a big deal, and the ants could have entered the package at any stop along the way.

Posted on October 26, 2012, updated November 14, 2012
This was my first year ordering from Blue J, I was very unhappy about some of the tiny rhizomes that they sent me although they did send two and three of that variety but it will be two years before they bloom and that is unaccepable. I sent a e-mail and let them know about these small iris and never received a answer back. My order was quite sizeable and put in early order#55 but shipment came in mid Aug. which was okay but I would have thought a early shipment would have priority in size, regardless the rhizomes were freshly dug and very healthy looking, the end of Oct. is now upon us and all are still alive. Will I order from this company again? Yes, but I will have confirmation before hand on the size or will send them back for a refund.On November 14th, 2012, Dakota_Works added the following:

Recieved a e-mail from Blue J shortly after posting my previous comment. She informed me of the bad growing conditions in Neb. this year and that was the reason for the small rhizomes. She also stated that she has been very busy and was sorry it took her three months to answer my e-mail. She also offered to refund if I lost some of them which is fine with me. I would suggest that they drop the part about having rhizomes to offer that are the size of golf balls.

I just received my six Iris plus a free one for ordering six.
I found the prices to be very reasonable and after buying those 'almost dead' iris in boxes in the box stores, it was wonderful to see healthy rhizomes. packed well and received in a timely manner. I would recommend this company to anyone looking to add Iris to their garden.

This year I made my first order with Blue J. First of all I was impressed by the number of historic irises that they offer. My order was large and I received 2 free 2010 Jedlicka intros valued at $30 each and a 2007 Jedlicka intro valued at $14 as freebies. The irises were a bit smaller than from a few other growers but I was very happy with them for the very reasonable price that I paid for them. They were very fresh and packaged nicely. Would definitely recommend them and will be ordering from them again!

Its a good thing to have you out there with all these hard to find iris. Fair to good size and a nice extra DESERT WINE.Still would like someone to come up with an old Schreiner's called BLUE BARRON and another one called ASIA. Thanks Miss Jedlicka

This company has been Awesome to me for the last 3 years. Huge selection and very reasonable prices. It may take a few days to respond to your emails but is only becuse they are busy working in their feilds trying to get orders straight and plants taken care of. I am so happy with Their generosity on my last order I cant even begin to explain. I will say that they went above and beyond what they had to do for me. It is a great company and I would order again and again. Thanks Blue J for a wonderful company that brings hard to find Iris to my front door. A++

I bought irises from Blue J a couple of years back. I was very pleased with the irises. They arrived fresh and healthy. The first year over half of them bloomed and I didn't lose a single one that first winter. They are all true to name and I wouldn't hesitate to buy from them again.

I received my order of 34 iris from Blue J Iris today. I have unpacked my box and found very healthy, nice sized rhizomes. They were packed in excelsor and each rhizome had a printed plant marker attached. (thank you Sheri...saved me time from not having to make my own markers.) They included 5 bonus iris and two of those are 2009 Jeda intros valued at $30 and $12 each.

I just wanted to say thankyou! This is my second order with your company. Last year I planted some SDB and MDB iris and they came up beautifully this spring and nice blooms! This season I bought some Orange Celebrities, Orange Fires, and Blue Cheers TB iris and all came exactly when expected and were healthy looking, large rhizomes! I can't wait to see them bloom next year! They are already planted in the ground and I just got them today! Great job on packing too.

I just received an order, my first, and was pleased that the plants were large, appeared healthy and freshly dug, and were packaged well for the trip. They also allowed me to specify the desired week of shipment, which was important because we were away during part of their shipping season.

I have bought iris from Blue J Iris for three years now and have been pleased with each order. They have an amazing selection of irises at very reasonable prices. Their rhizomes are typically not as big as those from the Oregon growers, but they are healthy and grow rapidly. Within a year, at least in my garden, the plants from Blue J are indistinguishable from the plants from the growers out west.

I wish to revise a former neutral rating on this company. I have found that Sheri has tried to reverse an early criticism I made about the size and resulting loss of rhizomes in my zone 4/5 garden. After discussing the problem, we have agreed to ship later in the growing season, which will allow for larger rhizomes when dug and hopefully more success in their settling into my garden. I appreciate her efforts to rectify the problem and her desire for customer satisfaction.

I had two problems with this company on my 2007 order. First, I had a large order which required 6 boxes. They were sent taped together in a tall column. The weight crushed the bottom of the lowest box and iris were missing. I reported this by email and there was no offer to replace. Also, about 1/3 of the iris rhizomes were minute...less than 1/2 inch. So, my expectations that they have survived a very cold zone 5 winter is doubtful .Also, I had no reply when I emailed about the size of so many of the rhizomes. With a few of the small ones I received 2 very small ones instead of just 1. Frankly, I would preferred not to receive any that size.My order was placed early....in February and iris were sent out in July...so no problems with the time of the order . Price is good but it is not worth my time and effort to receive such. She is a very pleasant person so I did not give a negative.

I ordered about 60 iris from Blue Jay this year. I was pleased by the order confirmation, price, size (of most of them) and condition of the iris upon arrival. They have been in the ground almost 2 months now and are growing well.They were shipped at the requested date. That was important to me as I live in the Idaho panhandle and we have short summers. I will order again next year. I found the prices and shipping to be very fair.

This has been my third year of placing very large orders with this company and I have been very pleased. The rhizomes have been good sized, and Sheri has always been very good about responding quickly to any questions I have had. Will definitely order from again.

This is my third year ordering from Blue J Iris. Have been extremely pleased with each order - beautiful, healthy rhizomes, at very reasonable prices, and wonderful bonus irises. Can't say enough positive about them. They are a joy to communicate with and very eager to please. My husband and I strolled through their gardens this past May. It was mind-boggling seeing so many absolutely beautiful, well-kept fields of iris...and a joy to meet Sheri, who was busy taking the beautiful photos for their web site. I'm already planning next year's order!!

I usely dont post but i have too
My first Oredr June 2006 the next Late July 2006
I got 2 large orders,
$300 worth.
One i hate winers and the people who say I HAVE GROWN IRISES 25 YEARS . YA FREE ONES THEY WINED SO MUCH for refund
Most I recived were very large heathy green fresh dug with no softeys.
i should post a photo .
if small she sent 2 or three extra.
cant beet the price come on $2.20 for most and discounts.

People when buying ask question to her before hand
How is this one LOoKING THIS YEAR?
I am already making a list for next July dig.
If you have to have a big golf ball size go the local green house Pay $12.

But from Blue J I did get golf ball size more then 3/4 of the odrer was .

I purshased -this being my first and last order with this company I spent way to much for tiny iris,and 2 missing,
then it had a disese -i thought it was iris rot.she tried to tell me that they dont have disese's in that area.Well this was put all together and within 2 weeks these where sick.I found borer's i had wrote to her.and guess what nothing,,,,no refund.just that area does get the iris irus-I am out money and iris never again.....

Excellent experience from enjoying the attractive, user-friendly site, to the ease of ordering, to the personable and professional communication and invoicing, to receiving the well-packaged healthy rhizomes. The bonuses and extras were generous and appropriately chosen to complement the colors I ordered. Add to all that, the very reasonable pricing and I doubt one could find a better source for iris.

i bought about 80 iris and i ordered kind of late. you will not believe this but i got all but 2 of the ones i wanted. i got bonuses, extras, large iris in the first place, packed perfectly with an invoice that was perfect. there's more.......i got a new iris intro. and a refund. teehee!! and i got these at the best price known in the iris world. sheri is wonderful to deal with. she worked with me for 2 months with my order. occ. she is too busy to get right back at you but she does get back. she answered every question i had. and when asked about the negative feedback blue j had gotten in the past she didn't hedge.....just explained that all of the past problems were being worked on. and by golly i think they have it. THIS is the place folks. i can not wait to order again next year. thanks to you sheri and to blue j for some really nice plants. a great big rebel yell from me down in texas.

This is the first year that I ordered from Blue J. I ordered on line and got an e-mail back within a day telling me exactly what would be in my order and which of the "bonus or substitute" irises would be included. The ordered arrived at the time that I had specified and was well packed, well marked and in good shape. They added so many bonus iris that I have given some to friends.

VERY UNHAPPY WITH BLUE J IRIS. BUYERS BEWARE, they only guarantee true to name. I received my order on Aug. 14th,e-mailed them on Aug 18th and to date have not received a reply. 7 out of 14 iris are no bigger than a marble, and the others not much bigger. ( That is a small marble ) These irises cost me $96. to get them to Canada and most will not make it thru my 4b winter. As I have had no reply from Blue J I am to assume they are not ashamed at what they sent me. I have posted a picture on the Canadian Gardening SectionOn September 8th, 2006, oltmanns added the following:

Received a reply in response to this negative report. Sheri Arevalo called me unkind and unfair for submitting an unkind public report, without verifying my information. Said they received no e-mail from me, and I had punished them severly for something the e-mail sevice had done.
Then she said I had expressed stronly that I had paid $96.10 for their iris, which she twisted around,as that was not what I said.. And they had run into a lot of problems with international orders and regretted getting into them.
Then she went on to say she gets up at 3:30am and works 17 hours a day to make sure all the work gets done and the customers are satisfied.And finally she requests and hopes as a human being with a conscience, I will take steps to correct the unwarranted damage I have caused.They won't replace the iris, but they will refund what I deem fair. If I had
not wanted the iris, I would not have placed the order.

NOT ONE WORD OF REGRET FOR THE UNKIND AND UNFAIR PATHETIC IRIS THEY SENT ME. They must have spent 17 hours finding the smallest iris, great endorsement for a business they are so proud of. I have sent 5 e-mail and not had 1 reply. To date out of 14 iris I have 6 that are in in the following condition.
Black Suited ( received moldy and soft) all sign of green gone and shriveled.
Halo in Rosewood ( small and dried) no green.
Isn't this Something ( received the size of a marble) dried all sign of green gone.
Jurrassic Park (bonus thanks for nothing)
Mallow Dramatic( bonus received moldy and soft) now completly mushy thanks for nothing.
Zandria ( most pathetic of all) smaller than a marble.
The other 8 are small and holding their own. Poem of Ecstacy actually as a small new tip growing, so will give hope for the rest.

I publicly appologize to Blue J iris for placing an order, and thank them very much for taking my money and rewarding me with such fine specimens.

Out of my 66 iris ordered all came back from the winter fine except one, I lost, and one which had a slight bit of rot, which I cut off. I consider that absolutely excellent. I have a big order again coming this year. I am very pleased so far with this comapny, and will post again, when I determine if they seem true to name.On June 7th, 2007, pollyk added the following:

Out of my 65 remaining irises (I lost only 1). I have bloom stalks on over 35 of them. So far, I have had 27 bloom, and all were true to name. I am extremely pleased with this company. For the price it is fantastic. Sheri has been wonderful to work with, and I have just a little bit larger order in this year. On August 21st, 2007, pollyk added the following:

Another year, another great order. For price and quality, and all true to name, so far, this place can't be beat.

i placed a large order with them. sheri was great. i added to my order several times, sheri didn't mind. the rhizomes were large and some they sent two if they were small. the only thing i didn't care for was the straw, it made a mess. i will be a repeat customer.On December 10th, 2007, daylily970 added the following:

i placed another large order in 2006 and another order in 2007. was pleased with both orders, will order again.

I placed a fair sized order with, Blue J Iris, earlier in 2005, ... (over 50 irises, at a very pleasing price). All were received in a timely manner, in fine condition. Sherri was super regarding customer service & always made feel like a valued customer! (always answered my questions/emails, & very helpful in quiding me when I was in search of that 'special iris', etc. ... even if they didn't have it themselves, she informed me of where I might locate it! Highly professional! So refreshing!). Very soon after I received my first order, I placed a second iris order, ... & to my surprise, they arrived quite quickly, (rather than placing me 'last on the list' & shipping latest in the season). I appreciate the consistancy in care, promptness, & quality I received! Any minor problems which arose, Blue J Iris was quick to make amends. A terrific company, with wonderful, 'old fashioned type values' .... remember???? the days when the common corporate social value was that .... 'the customer was always right'. That was my experience with Blue J Iris!

I have withheld comment on Blue J. for several reasons. To see how the iris fared and to see if mine was an isolated incident...
When I recieved my iris they were covered in mold , I do not know if it was the packing or growing conditions. I did inform Sheri of the problem and she stated that she would replace them if they did not survive..Most of them have done ok...Some of them have been very slow to put on any new growth, and I have lost a few, but I have not informed Blue J of the problem.I was happy with the size of the rhizomes, some were very small, but several were sent if that was the case. In time, I believe that Blue J will be exceptional source of iris for an inexpensive price.

This is one of the best plant purchases I have ever made! They were easy to work with, the iris were HUGE and beautiful. They were out of two of the iris that I ordered because I ordered on the last day of their season and they shipped double replacement for one, and triple for the other! I will always buy from this company when I want iris! Oh, there prices were fantastic!!!!!!!!! Let me give them the highest praise report that I have ever written!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I received my order from Blue J about a month ago. I was order number 5 and had two iris on the buy list that were refunded. I notified Sheri once the iris arrived because they had mold and some were soft and had chew damage on them. She sent duplicates on some iris but the really tiny ones with damage had no duplicates . In general, the straw she uses to pack iris in, holds moisture and unless you are only one day away, then chances for mold and soft rhizomes, are a very good possibility. By the way, mold on iris rhizomes isn't always black. Once the black is there, it can be too late. This happened with three of the Blue J iris. The others were treated with bleach and then streptomycin when planted. I've lost some of the rhizomes because of the mold and some are fine and growing and some just sit.

As of today's date, no response from Sheri on the mold situation. I know I'm not the only person to receive iris with mold. I've had three different buyers tell me the exact same problem happened to them with their orders from Blue J.. In general, I think the problems can be solved with different shipping methods. The size of most of the rhizomes is good. I'd like to see orders sent out in the order received, I know orders in the twenties got their iris before I saw mine. To be fair, Blue J is a good company with lots of room to get better. Blue J can take over the lower price market with a little work. I think we all wish them well. Hope everyone at least considers posting on this forum so all the views can be evaluated.

On February 1st, 2007, patnjbob changed the rating from neutral to positive and added the following:

I usually don't change my ratings of a company but will this time. Sheri rethought the straw packing and used excelsior last summer. There was absolutely no mold on last summer's rhizomes. I took later shipment because of my zone and I received much nicer rhizomes and Sheri was quick to make good anything that I knew wouldn't make it here. (Too Small) I don't think the smaller ones were her fault, I think it was maybe another problem that she was aware of. Namely packers.

I have recommended Blue J now to several people and they have since ordered. I think Sheri and her parents are working hard to rectify problems. I've not seen any sign of borers in any of the rhizomes I've gotten, but I did see what looked like rodent damage on the previous year's rhizomes. Last summer (06) didn't find that sort of damage again. I'd still like to see a little larger rhizome on some of my order but as long as Blue J is trying, what else can you ask for. I applaud their progress. And because of their attempts to make things better for all of us, I have changed my rating.

Zone 6 Illinois
When I recieved my iris order from B J Iris I was very surprised to see such mature iris plants, WOW! Have ordered from other companies and individual small gardens as well and never EVER have I recieved such nice healthy plants. They are sure to bloom in the spring. Thanks so much B J Iris for the bonus and fantastic discounts as well. You are 5 stars in my book! On August 21st, 2005, Robin77 added the following:

Blue J Iris was easy to work with, Blue J Iris website was easy to browse and Sheri Arevalo (of Blue J Iris) was helpful and even took the time to give me individual help with growing my iris plants.